Leipsic’s Tyler Lammers intercepts a pass late in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory for the Vikings against McComb on Friday night.
Nate Reynolds | The Lima News
LEIPSIC – With a little less than four minutes left in the first half of Friday’s key Blanchard Valley Conference football game, McComb led Leipsic 21-0.
McComb seemed to be in complete control.
However, Leipsic (5-2, 4-1 BVC) battled back from its huge first-half deficit and eventually slipped out with a thrilling 30-27 victory over McComb (4-3, 2-3 BVC) at John Edwards Field.
Leipsic claimed its first and only lead of the night with 2:54 left to play in the game with a five-play, 78-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marc Kirkendall to Quinn Westhoven. With the two-point conversion, Leipsic led 30-27.
On the night, Kirkendall was 15 of 24 passing for 221 yards and two touchdowns with a pair of interceptions.
“Give the kids a lot of credit. It would have been really easy to pack it in,” Leipsic coach Joe Kirkendall said. “We knew that we were close, and defensively we finally found a way to make some plays. That was the challenge.”
Kirkendall connected with seven different receivers on Friday. His favorite target was senior Jayce Brecht, who hauled in eight passes for 114 yards and one touchdown.
“That’s what we talk about. … We talk about balance,” Coach Kirkendall said. “Balance for some teams is (balancing the) run and pass. Balance for us is, ‘Who’s getting the ball?’ We want to spread the ball around. We trust our guys.”
Werntz wins wild game for Celina
CELINA — When the game is on the line, put the ball in the hands of your best players.
That’s exactly what Celina coach Brennen Bader did on Friday night against Bath and it resulted in a perfectly executed two-minute drill that culminated with a touchdown and a game-winning 2-point conversion to secure a 36-35 victory.
Celina quarterback Bobby Morris found Kaiden Werntz on each of the final two plays, an 11-yard touchdown with 0:02 left and a 2-point conversion to the same corner of the endzone.
Both Morris and Werntz said there wasn’t a true play call on the touchdown, but rather an ultimatum of “get open” from coach Bader.
“Coach said just play backyard football, get open and all I had to do was make the throw,” Bobby Morris said. “We stay after practice all the time to get our chemistry up and it paid off tonight.”
“Bobby just saw me at the right time,” Werntz said. “We’ve been playing together for years now and we have a really good connection. He knows I can make plays and he put the ball right where it needed to be.”
Morris initially rolled out to the right on the final touchdown, then he looked back left and dropped the pass directly over one defender into the hands of Werntz, who was fading into the corner of the endzone.
“He’s a senior with a lot of time and he made two huge plays,” Bader said of Werntz. “Great throw by Bobby and Werntzy just made a huge play. He demanded the ball and he wasn’t going to be denied on either one of those. Just great plays.”
According to Bader, the decision to go for the win was made long before Werntz scored. The game-winning conversion looked almost identical to the touchdown, a pass from Morris to Werntz in the home-side corner of the endzone.
“As soon as Bath scored we had 1:50 left and I told the offensive staff that we were going for two,” he said. “I wanted them to keep it in the back of their mind so we’d know what we liked the best in that situation. Whatever that play was, it worked out.”
“We knew we were going to score and for us, it was now or never on that play,” Morris said of the two-point conversion. “We never want overtime. We always want to win.”
Lima Senior stays unbeaten
Most high school football teams would consider passing for 162 yards in the first half a good thing.
But for Lima Senior’s high-flying offense, doing that was more like a check engine light blinking on a dashboard during a 37-6 win over Toledo Rogers on Friday night at Spartan Stadium.
The Spartans (7-0, 3-0 Toledo City League) started slowly and led only 8-6 at halftime. But they got up to speed in the second half to get the win and start the season 7-0 for only the second time since 1972.
“We sputtered a little bit today,” Lima Senior coach Bill Lawrence said. “I’ve got to go to the film and see what they (Rogers) did early on. We made some mistakes and went to the locker room and regrouped. We need these situations to get better for the future.
“I think it was more about what we were doing. We were having breakdowns up front, we were having breakdowns with receivers and breakdowns opposite each other. Once we all got back to the same page and got in rhythm and mixed in the run and kind of made them make some decisions that put us in some good positions,” he said.
Lima Senior got a touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Ja’Niaus Hall to Amontre Davis on its first possession of the game and didn’t score again until late in the third quarter.
Rogers (2-5, 2-2 Toledo City League) cut the lead to 8-6 on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jamar Johnson to Marquise Westley with 8:33 left in the first half.
The Rams nearly took the lead late in the first half when Nakai Adams got loose for a 48-yard run which appeared destined to become a touchdown until Lima Senior’s Darius Routson’s dive enabled him to grab Adams around an ankle and bring down at the 5-yard line.
Hall finished 23 of 39 for 365 yards and three touchdowns after being sacked four times and throwing two interceptions in the first half.
Lima Senior dominated the third quarter statistically and rolled up 128 yards of total offense to Rogers’ seven yards in those 12 minutes. But it wasn’t until the final 1:57 of the third quarter when that dominance began to show up on the scoreboard.
“We just got the ball to our playmakers and they made plays. Our defense played well, holding them to six points. They’ve done a phenomenal job all year,” Lawrence said.
Columbus Grove remains dominant
COLUMBUS GROVE — The life of a defensive back can be a little dull in the Northwest Conference, with all the running teams.
Columbus Grove’s Gavin Barraza and his defensive backfield friends enjoyed a bit of the spotlight Friday night against a pass-dominant Fort Loramie team. The Bulldogs were up to the challenge in their 50-20 victory, with Barraza getting two first-half interceptions.
“We were talking about it all week because you don’t see a lot of teams like that in the NWC,” he said of the league’s newest member, who joined this year. “Our DBs are pretty happy about it. We were finally able to get into the action and have a little bit of fun.”
Barraza picked up one of his interceptions in the end zone, stalling a possible scoring drive for the Redskins (3-4, 2-2 NWC) that could’ve given them some momentum going into halftime.
Fort Loramie actually held a 310-279 total yardage advantage in the game, but 73 of that came on a fourth-quarter drive against Columbus Grove’s junior varsity defense. In general, Columbus Grove (7-0, 4-0 NWC), ranked No. 2 in the most recent Associated Press poll in Division VII, kept the Redskins from scoring thanks to its three interceptions. Grove also held them about 70 yards below their passing average.
Bulldog coach Andy Schafer said Friday felt a bit like a playoff game, with a good crowd for Military Night at Clymer Stadium and an unfamiliar opponent with an unusual offensive style.
“This is probably the most nervous that I’ve been all year,” Schafer said. “They’ve played some pretty good games against some pretty good teams. So my hat’s off to them.”
Fort Loramie also did a decent job of containing CG’s star running back, Trenton Barraza who finished the game with 19 carries for 145 yards with a touchdown.
As Fort Loramie focused on Barraza, the rest of the offense found its footing. Kyle Hopkins, making his second start at quarterback of the season after an injury to Landon Best earlier in the year, completed 8 of 12 passes for 94 yards. The converted senior wide receiver completed first-quarter touchdown passes to Brady Basinger (2-yard TD) and Grant Eversole (22-yard TD).
“I know the playbook pretty well from receiver, and I played all last year,” Hopkins said. “It’s really easy when you have No. 3 (Trenton Barraza) back there to just give the ball to him. … The line just opened up holes in the pocket, and it was easy to see my receivers downfield.”
LCC rebounds on Saturday night
LIMA — Delphos Jefferson and Lima Central Catholic met on the gridiron for the first time in a decade on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium, and it was all Thunderbirds once the whistle blew in a 56-0 shutout.
LCC (5-2, 3-1 Northwest Conference) was without senior two-way star Matthew Quatman in the win but Delphos Jefferson (1-6, 0-4 Northwest Conference) couldn’t take advantage as the T-Birds possessed the ball six times in the first half, scored six touchdowns, and defensively, they held the Wildcats to 37 yards of total offense.
“We made some offensive changes this week and our kids really bought in and came out and executed well,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. “We did a really nice job getting off the ball and blocking well for our freshman running backs.”
Michael Quatman, however, was available for LCC on Saturday, and he made his presence known with two first-half interceptions of Jefferson quarterback Luke Rode.
“Michael (Quatman) did a great job today flying around, reading the plays and he made a couple of nice interceptions,” Palte said. “He just needs to keep grinding and it will continue.”
Sophomore quarterback Brady Parker engineered LCC’s run-pass-option offense to near perfection. On the opening drive, he faced a fourth down conversion and calmly fired his first pass of the day 12 yards into the hands of Mylon Cowens in the end zone.
Parker finished 5 of 9 for 137 yards and one touchdown with 53 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries.
“Brady did a great job putting the ball where it needed to be and he was good when he ran the ball,” Palte said. “He’s growing as a sophomore and keeps improving as a leader.”
Top performers
• In St. Marys’ 42-0 win over Shawnee, Dominik Osborne had 16 rushes for 82 yards and a touchdown, Caleb Schmidt had 15 rushes for 78 yards and two touchdowns and Aiden Meinderding had a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tre Moore.
• In Van Wert’s 35-34 overtime win against Ottawa-Glandorf, Briston Wise had 36 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Xavier Kelly had 48 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
• In Perry’s 28-3 win over Cory-Rawson, Isaiah McFadden had 21 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
• In Coldwater’s 52-7 win over Delphos St. John’s, Chip Otten picked up his 200th career victory. Baylen Blockberger went 7 of 8 for 141 yards and a touchdown along with 42 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Caleb Schroeder added 102 yards on eight carries.
• In Pandora-Gilboa’s 38-21 loss to Liberty-Benton, Chase Meyer had four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
• In Marion Local’s 62-0 win over Fort Recovery, Justin Knouff went 8 for 8 for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Derek Knapke had 7 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown, Drew Lause had 4 carries for 40 yards and two TDs.Victor Hoelscher added 3 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.
• In Minster’s 48-14 win over New Bremen, Brogan Stephey went 18 of 27 for 273 yards and two touchdowns with 126 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries.
• In Hardin Northern’s 14-7 loss to Ridgemont, Nolan Hopson had 23 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown.
• In Ottawa-Glandorf’s 35-34 loss to Van Wert, Ethan Metzger had four catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns and Grant Evers carried the ball 23 times for 130 yards.
FOOTBALL STANDINGS
Western Buckeye Leauge
`WBL`All
Wapakoneta`6-0`7-0
Defiance`5-1`5-2
Celina`4-2`5-2
St. Marys`4-2`5-2
Bath`4-2`4-3
Ottawa-Glandorf`3-3`3-4
Shawnee`1-5`2-5
Elida`1-5`2-5
Van Wert`1-5`2-5
Kenton`1-5`1-6
Midwest Athletic Conference
`MAC`All
Marion Local`5-0`7-0
Coldwater`5-0`7-0
Minster`4-1`6-1
Anna`3-2`5-2
Versailles`3-2`5-2
New Bremen`2-3`4-3
St. Henry`2-3`3-4
Delphos St. John’s`1-4`2-5
Fort Recovery`0-5`1-6
Parkway`0-5`1-6
Northwest Conference
`NWC`All
Columbus Grove`4-0`7-0
Bluffton`4-0`7-0
Lima Central Catholic`3-1`5-2
Fort Loramie`2-2`3-4
Spencerville`1-3`4-3
Crestview`1-3`3-4
Allen East`1-3`3-4
Delphos Jefferson`0-4`1-6
Northwest Central Conference
`NWCC`All
Upper Scioto Valley`5-0`6-1
Hardin Northern`5-1`5-2
Ridgemont`4-1`5-2
Elgin`3-2`3-4
Waynesfield-Goshen`3-2`5-2
Perry`2-3`4-3
North Baltimore`2-4`3-4
Ridgedale`0-5`1-6
Cory-Rawson`0-6`1-6
Blanchard Valley Conference
`BVC`All
Liberty-Benton`5-0`6-1
Ada`4-1`6-1
Leipsic`4-1`5-2
Pandora-Gilboa`4-1`4-3
Van Buren`3-2`4-3
Arlington`2-3`4-3
McComb`2-3`4-3
Riverdale`1-4`2-5
Arcadia`0-5`0-7
Elmwood`0-5`0-7
Toledo City Athletic League
`TCAL`All
Lima Senior`3-0`7-0
Start`2-0`4-3
Bowsher`2-1`2-5
Rogers`2-2`2-5
Scott`2-1`2-5
Waite`0-3`0-7
Woodward`0-4`0-7
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 4
Ada 35, Riverdale 7
Anna 13, Versailles 7
Arlington 63, Elmwood 26
Celina 36, Bath 35
Coldwater 52, Delphos St John’s 7
Columbus Grove 50, Fort Loramie 20
Defiance 35, Elida 0
Liberty-Benton 38, Pandora-Gilboa 21
Leipsic 30, McComb 27
Lima 37 Senior, Rogers 6
Marion Local 62, Fort Recovery 0
Minster 48, New Bremen 14
North Baltimore 32, Ridgedale 13
Perry 28, Cory-Rawson 3
Ridgemont 14, Hardin Northern 7
Spencerville 23, Allen East 20
St. Henry 48, Parkway 13
St. Marys 42, Shawnee 0
Upper Scioto Valley 30, Day. Christian 0
Van Buren 29, Arcadia 14
Van Wert 35, Ottawa-Glandorf 34, OT
Wapakoneta 42, Kenton 21
Waynesfield-Goshen 21, Elgin 14
Saturday, Oct. 5
Bluffton 42, Crestview 0
LCC 56, Delphos Jefferson 0
Thursday, Oct. 10
Arcadia at Pandora-Gilboa, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 11
Crestline at Hardin Northern, 7 p.m.
Delphos Jefferson at Allen East, 7 p.m.
Bluffton at Fort Loramie, 7 p.m.
Columbus Grove at Crestview, 7 p.m.
LCC at Spencerville, 7 p.m.
Defiance at Bath, 7 p.m.
Celina at Ottawa-Glandorf, 7 p.m.
Wapakoneta at Elida, 7 p.m.
Kenton at St. Marys, 7 p.m.
Shawnee at Van Wert, 7 p.m.
New Bremen at Coldwater, 7 p.m.
Delphos St. John’s at St. Henry, 7 p.m.
Parkway at Fort Recovery, 7 p.m.
Marion Local at Anna, 7 p.m.
Versailles at Minster, 7 p.m.
Van Buren at Ada, 7 p.m.
McComb at Arlington, 7 p.m.
Elmwood at Riverdale, 7 p.m.
Liberty-Benton at Leipsic, 7 p.m.
Cory-Rawson at Ridgedale, 7 p.m.
Upper Scioto Valley at Elgin, 7 p.m.
North Baltimore at Ridgemont, 7 p.m.
Waynesfield-Goshen at Perry, 7 p.m.
Waite at Lima Senior, 7 p.m.
